Archive of Our Own ^beta

It has been a shit start to your day. You were running late to work, your boss yelled at you. And now your car decided it needed an oil change at the worst time of your life. 

The way you wish this day could not get any worse. When you arrive at the D&D motors spot, you walk in. No one’s at the front. Of course. 

You want to scream in frustration. You ring the bell an obnoxious amount of times before finally someone comes. The man before you looks peeved. Rightfully so. You had been making an incredible amount of noise. 

“I need an oil change,” you start with a demand. The way it comes out is bad. It’s bad. You know that. Usually a please would be more socially acceptable. You’re just angry today. And now you’re taking it out on the next poor soul in your nearest vicinity. The man before you raises a brow. 

“Is that all?” 

You huff. “Yes!” 

You tap your foot and he just tells you the payment of it costs more than you’d think. “That much? I thought there was like, I don’t know. Better pricing?” It’s just your lucky day. Foot in mouth, it is. 

You read the man’s name tag. Inui. 

He looks irate. His cold stare enough when you’re not enraged with the world to cause you to shrink back. But you just channel your rage. You glare right back, arms crossed. 

Inui, or whatever, grabs your card. He swipes it and hands it back, along with your receipt. “It’ll be thirty minutes to an hour.” 

You groan. “I’m the only one here?” 

“Unlike most people, you walked in during my lunch break.” 

“Huh? When? There’s no sign.” 

Inui points at the door. The white ‘will be back in 30’ paper flashing at you. Maybe you can’t read. 

You stubbornly stand your ground. “Well, sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize now. It’s done.” He takes your keys, looking at them for a long minute. 

“What?” You snap. 

“Is this for a car?” He asks then. 

“Yes, why?” 

Inui blinks, then he does it again. “We only work on motorbikes.” 

Huh? What. 

“Seriously? Isn’t it the same thing? Like can’t you do it to cars?” 

He’s in disbelief. “No, it’s not the same thing? Did you not check before coming in here?” 

You frown, annoyed at him. “Listen, I came here for an oil change. I thought this place has mechanics, does it not?” 

Inui twitches. “Yes, but also no. You’re not being very reasonable.” 

You look at him aghast. “How dare you? I am being reasonable! If you will not work on my vehicle, then I’m leaving.” You snag the keys back from him, exiting the building to head to your car. Today truly was unbelievable. How could this happen? You had come here mistakenly and now you felt embarrassed. It’s like buddha is smiting you from above. Everything in the world seems to go against you on this very day. 

Maybe it’s because you stepped on a crack or walked under a ladder. You broke a glass the other day. All of that must’ve been factors in why this day seems to go down the hole. 

Inui watches you go. You literally paid for an oil change. Shit. He needed to give you a refund. He notices the wallet still sitting on the counter, grabbing it on his way out to follow you. 

“Hey!” He calls out. You don’t hear him over your own muttering. You’re entirely too focused on getting the hell out of here. Inui tries to wave you down, but it ultimately fails. You back out without so much as a look behind you. 

“Hey–” the final shout lost on him when the force of your vehicle throws him back. You step on the brake, horrified. 

What’d you just hit? A deer?! 

You place the car in park to inspect the damage and you see the man from inside D&D Motors laying out on the concrete with your wallet in his hand. Oh, my god. The panic sets in. 

“Oh, my god! Oh my–I can’t believe this,” you breathe heavily. You go to see if he’s still breathing. He’s still alive, right? Right? 

“Please wake up! Oh my god, I am so sorry. I didn’t—oh, I’m going to jail. Hey!” You squat, getting to his level. You smack his face. You can’t do CPR, this is all you can do. You feel useless. 

“Please wake up!” You pat his face again to rouse him. He seems to be unconscious. Oh, he must’ve hit his head. He’s going to bleed out. 

You try to haul him into your arms, but he’s a dead weight. You make a final pull and he groans then. 

“Fuck–” He grunts out. 

You want to thank whatever higher power may be on your side. He’s alive, at least.  “Don’t worry, I’m taking you to the hospital.” 

He says something indecipherable under his breath. You push him into your back seat, making sure he’s all the way in, and you quickly get into your car. You look this time behind you to make sure no other employee comes running out without you noticing. 

When the two of you arrive at the ER, you explain your story. The way Dr. Yamasaki looks disapproving towards you is enough to make you realize the error of your ways. You’ve seen no one this disappointed in you in quite a while. 

“Make sure you pay attention next time. We wouldn’t want this to be a worse tragedy.” 

You nod, feeling grave. “Is he okay?” 

“He’ll pull through well. You need to get home. We’ve already called his emergency contact. They’ll be arriving soon.” 

You hesitate before asking. “Is it okay if I can see him? I just want to say I’m sorry.” 

Dr. Yamasaki shakes his head. “You need to go home. I think you’ve had enough excitement.” 

He tells you to exit, leaving you to go back to your car. You hope the man is okay. 

Draken comes busting into the ER. “Inui Seishu, where is he?” 

The nurse gives him a dead eyed look. Then types in the name. “He’s on the second floor–” before she can tell him anything else, Draken runs down to the elevators. 

After a moment of frantic searching, he sees the head of blonde hair from one of the door windows. 

“Inupi!” 

Inui blinks, looking ultimately very okay, minus the state of his clothes being ruffled. The nurse in front of him bows her head. “Just remember to take any medicine for muscle aches, but you should be fine.” 

She leaves the two of them there. 

Draken heads over to him, hovering in a comical manner. “What happened?” 

His partner sighs, leaning back against the hospital bed. “Too many things happened. I got backed into by a car.” 

“Who did this?” 

“Some fool who came into our shop for an oil change. You know they mistook it for a car mechanic's place?” 

Draken frowns. “The car mechanics are across from us. D&S Car Motors. How’d they get confused?” 

Inui shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m not even going to pretend to understand.” 

They share a brief glance. “Well, you look fine. Are you feeling fine?” 

Inui releases a puff of air. “Kind of. Just sore. They got me pretty good. Did not expect that.” 

Draken laughs humorlessly. “You have the worst luck.” 

“Tell me about it.” 

When you had gotten home, your nervous energy was off the charts. You felt horrible. Positively dreadful. Had you gotten out much faster, you could’ve probably killed him. Even worse, he has a concussion now, thanks to you. 

You’re hoping maybe he might have some memory loss so he doesn’t remember what happened after today. 

Something needed to be done about it. You had to clear the air. At least to ask for forgiveness. You’re unsure if he’ll even take the offer. You hospitalized an innocent person because of your own actions. There are consequences to these things. You bite your lip, pacing around trying to figure out what to do. 

This’ll need to be done in person. A part of you is terrified of facing him again. What do you tell someone who you literally ran over? Sorry, I had a bad day, and I wanted to leave so I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings. I hope you can forgive me. 

No. No, that’s not how it should be. 

You mull over it for longer, trying to think of something better. Also, better worded. 

You wait outside of the building. You have the fruit basket in your arms. You were here to make amends. What you did was awful. It could’ve killed him. You gulp, taking a leap of faith. You walk into D&D Motors. The man before you named Draken or so reads his nametag. When he notices you, his eyebrows raise high into his hairline. Is it that shocking for him to see you here? Does he know you? He must know now. 

Draken takes one look at the basket, knowing exactly who you are. “What brings you back? Need to run me over next?” He mocks, shaking his head. 

You wince. Is it that obvious that you’re the perpetrator? “I’ve brought a peace offering, an apology for nearly taking out your favored employee.” 

Draken stares at you, sucking his teeth in. “See if he accepts it.” He gestures absently to the employee’s only door off to the side of the register. 

You nod, bowing your head when you step into their break room. Inui, sitting there with an arm sling. You gasp. Was it that bad? 

His gaze, to put it lightly, is incredulous. “Did you come to finish the job?” 

Why are they acting like you’re a hitman ready to take them out? You bite your lip, accepting the jabs. You deserve this. Especially for acting like such an ass to a service worker. 

You had disrupted his schedule and his career now with that injury. The shame does not leave you. You bow before him. “I apologize for my actions towards you. Not expecting you to forgive me by any means. I brought a check for the hospital bill and a gift basket.” 

You don’t lift your head; you wait for his call. You can see he’s walking closer to you. He doesn’t tell you when to raise your head yet. The silence was becoming uncomfortable and unbearable. 

Also, your back really hurts. Inui doesn’t speak yet, but he releases a puff of air. Is he laughing? 

“Hey, look at me,” he commands. You do as you're told. At that point it made one thing apparent: his arms are out of the sling and he’s wearing a wry smile. 

Is this a joke? Did he lie about his injury? Was he expecting you this entire time? 

He talks anyway, ignoring the way you look at him in confusion. “I’m allergic to apples in this.” Inui points to the basket full of fruits. 

Your brain takes a minute to catch up. He’s not wearing his sling, and he’s denied your basket. “It is a peace offering. There’s not just apples in here.” 

Inui takes a step back, a blank expression crossing his features. He looks wary. “I can’t be in the same room with apples. They’ll break me out in hives.” 

You gape at him. Really? What are the chances? “I–should I throw this out?” You panic, not intending to cause him more harm. God, you just keep messing up. 

You look around, finally moving out of the break room to the counter where Draken is. “Here, he’s allergic.” 

Draken doesn’t miss a beat. “He’s not.” He continues scrolling through his computer, looking at different bike parts. 

You smack your forehead, going back right back in. “You dirty liar!” 

Inui doesn’t look like he’s laughing, but judging by the way his lips are twitching, he’s fighting a smile. “I was kidding.” 

You want to say more, but you release a breath, leaning against the cabinets of the break room. “I guess I deserve that. For running you over.” 

“You backed into me,” he corrects. 

You squint at him. “Same difference.” 

“There is a difference. You would have been looking and saw me had it happened from the front.” 

That is true. Damn, he’s got you there. “I really am sorry. There’s no excuse for it.” 

He waves you off, sitting back down at the table. “You have impeccable timing,” he glances up at the clock. “This is about the same hour you came in last time.” 

You pull a face. “Oh, you’re on lunch break?” 

Inui nods slowly. “Yeah.” 

God. Please end it all. You walk over, sitting directly across from him. He didn’t ask you to do that, but you just feel so beat. He will not ask you why you did what you did, nor is he going to give you a refund. You kind of deserve it. 

Inui almost pities you. Almost. 

“I feel so bad. I hope you didn’t get a concussion. If you’re dead, blink twice.” 

Inui’s face is impassive. “I’m not dead.” He pauses, considering his next words. “I could have a concussion, though.” 

You groan, letting your head hit against the table. “I am so sorry! I will literally come in here every day to make it up to you.” 

Inui draws back, fearful of the promise. “Please, don’t,” he implores. 

“What can I do?” 

There’s a silence that passes over between you two. Inui must be thinking of different ways to make you grovel before him or worse: could he put you in jail for vehicular manslaughter? Does it still count as manslaughter? Hit and Run maybe? But you didn’t run? All you know is you would not thrive well if you’re sued and jailed. Has he sued? What if he did already? You feel nauseous just thinking about it. 

He shifts in his seat then, a grave look in his eye. “I lost a lot of blood.” 

You pale, oh so he is dying. He could have a brain aneurysm or something. 

“I’ll need to replenish what I lost.” 

Well, it was more or less a lie. 

“A blood drive?” 

“Thanks for taking me.” 

You put the car in park, waiting outside of the hospital. “You had me drive you here to give blood. I thought you lost blood?” 

Inui responds with a simple answer. “Yes and no.” Correction, not a simple one. 

He leaves the vehicle, but then comes right back so you roll your windows down. “Did you need me to wait here?” 

“There’s no need. Here.” He hands you a card, with the title of D&D Motors and Inui Seishu’s number. You raise a quizzical brow. 

“What’s this for?” 

“In case you need to hit me again with your car,” he taps on the hood. Finally, walking away. 

You stay in the parking lot for a long time. 

“So, how did you two meet?” Takemichi starts conversationally, watching you leave for the bathroom. Inui had invited him over to his and Draken’s place where they were sitting on the couch watching a racing documentary. 

Inui takes a drink of his beer. “They hit me with their car.” 

Takemichi’s eyes widened. “What? You’re joking?”

Draken chimes in. “He’s not. That’s what happened.” 

Takemichi looks positively horrified. “And you didn’t die?” 

Inui shakes his head. “No, but I thought I did. I was unconscious.” 

Takemichi looks to have more questions, many that will go unanswered when he shuts his mouth when you return. 

“What? Did I miss something?” You ask, sitting beside Inui. 

Takemichi coughs lightly, trying to look discreet. “Nah, uh, just talking.” 

“He wanted to know how we met,” Inui elaborates. 

You snort. “I backed into him with my car.”